I have a friend who is a pastor, he wants to take on a new task, he wants to reach out to those who nobody else is reaching out to, those who completely reject God. It got me thinking a bit. My first thought is from Matthew 10:14, "And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet". It sounds a little harsh; but, it is what it says. My second thought is from 1 Peter 3:15 and says, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear"
I am not nor have I ever been a preacher. I have never felt called upon to go into the ministry. I will answer anyone who asks me questions about my faith; but, don't really discuss it with most people. I live my life as I live it and try to live it with integrity and honesty. I believe very deeply and try to live my life by what I believe, that is my testament.
My relationship with God is a very personal thing and developed over decades. I don't think anyone can lead another person to Christ, I think they have to be ready. Having said that then I guess I think the mission of a Pastor is to be ready to help them understand once they have decided to investigate or have decided to come to Christ.
I think a lot of young people are "turned off" to God because they think that accepting God is accepting that they are sinful. They see it as restricting them from doing what they want. They are partly right, we are all sinful whether we accept God or not. I have not met a perfect person yet. I have met some people who have tried real hard in their life to be of service to others and I consider them pretty good examples of what we can do.
The second part regarding changing one's ways, that just happens as one believes. Our actions do follow our beliefs overtime, not all at once. I guess if I were to recommend how to reach those people it would be to be prepared for them to come. I would then ignore sin completely and focus on faith, on why we believe rather than what we believe.
The sin questions will come up on their own, it is an outgrowth of faith, faith is the issue not sin. Jesus died to free us from sin's consequences. So the question then becomes, how do you let people know that you are looking to talk to sinners? I guess you would let them know that you are looking for sinners and not the saved. That somehow feels right and correct.
Luke 14:15-24 is a fascinating story. It is also known as the parable of the great banquet. A man asked Jesus about the great feast to be had by those who go to heaven. Jesus told him a parable, he talked about a man who prepared a great feast; but, all the people who were invited made last minute excuses as to why they could not come. Instead the man sent his servant to the streets to get the poor, crippled, blind and lame. Still, the banquet had more room so the master told the servants to compel people on the side streets and highways to come. He said that none who were originally invited and refused would be allowed in the banquet.
The common interpretation is that Jesus was referring to the Jews who had rejected him; however, I think this is short sighted. He was referring to all who knew him and did not come, I believe that includes Christians. That is what most people talk about when referring to this parable; but, I want to talk about the second part.
Firstly, the master says to go out and invite the people who were shunned by society as being imperfect. This is commonly understood to be sinners. That is not what I am interested in either, nope, the last part. He commanded that his servants FORCE people to come to the party that were not even known to him and that did not know him. That is interesting.
The word of the bible has pretty much been preached to all the corners of the world. People have brought the word to the deepest jungles. Those who have known and rejected him have heard the word. When I say known, I don't mean know his name, I mean know his heart. When we reject love for one another, we reject Jesus.
So how does God force people to come to the party, people that don't even know him? It is a good question. I guess he will tell his servants where to find the last of the lost sheep. That, my friends, will be a sign that the real party has just begun.
My friend invited me to lunch to tomorrow to discuss what he is doing and I wanted to think about it so that I might hopefully have something to offer. My friend will be trying to reach out to those who the churches don't reach out to. So who are these people, there are gay preachers so it is not the gays, there are ministries aimed at criminals in prison, so they are not the ones. Who do the churches reject or ignore?
I guess I am looking to define the audience. It is those that society ignores completely. Did you know that whole families live in national and state parks, camping for years in tents and moving from park to park? You wouldn't think they are homeless, they look like campers. We still ignore many people.
There was a story about a sheep in New Zealand. This particular sheep managed to hide each year when it was time to shear them. He managed to hide for about six years, the picture is of him. Jesus often compared us to sheep; but, what does it really mean?
Sheep do best when they have a shepherd, a good shepherd, one who will shear them when it is needed. The sheep don't like being sheared; but, just look at poor Shrek in the picture (that was the name of the sheep). He really needed a trim. Sheep don't know what is best for them, same is true for most people. People do lots of things that are bad for them rather than be shepherded. They actually prefer bad shepherds over good ones, they prefer those who will allow them to just eat and sleep and not ask them to move to greener pastures.
Revelations is a fascinating book, I just don't recommend it for new Christians, way too complicated and scary. There are a lot of people who believe the world will end next year, I am not one of them. Heck, I don't believe Armageddon is the end of the world; but, one day the world will end. While I don't believe the world will end in 2012, what if we did believe it, I mean lets say that the scientists found a meteor that was big enough to shatter the earth into a million pieces and it was going to hit next year, what would you do differently?
Would you do as Prince recommended and party like it was 1999? Would you go for all the fun that you could have in the time remaining? Many people would; but, who would deliver the gasoline and farm food for anyone other than themselves? Who would help people last till the meteor hit? A lot of people would just give up and give into whatever they wanted, they would lose all the societal restraints and revert to their true hearts. Many people who claim to be spiritual would leave the churches in a heartbeat. Others who never sought to even know Jesus would come seeking.
Isn't it funny, if we knew the world would end next year we would see people who claim to be believers leave the faiths and those who were hiding from God finally come over to meet him, there would be little to risk at that point. I hope you see the humor in Jesus' parable. I sat in a car waiting to die in Baker, California, I did that thing. I was ready to go kids, all ready except I asked for a year to take care of some things, he has given me a few, he has given more than I ever thought I would see. Be careful what you wish for.
I should point out a couple of things, I got healthier and am in much better shape and have considerably less stress in my life. I also saw all the things that I asked to see happen, happen. Can I go now? Nope, it doesn't work that way. There are still things to be accomplished and I am still here. Nobody knows what will be asked of them in this life, no more than you can handle. I am still here and handling business.
Kind of hard for me to worry about dying, I am surprised by everyday that I am alive. To hear that next year a meteor was going to kill us all wouldn't really effect me much, I would wonder if I were going to live long enough to see it. I would not be afraid. But, those who have no hope would need help, they would to know the hope that is inside those of us who do believe, that I have. Be well.
I will print this out for my Pastor friend, a way to let him know that I am already thinking about what he wants to discuss and to give him some perspective on where I am coming from. I am very honored that he chose to ask me about this, I am honored to know that he would ask my opinion on any spiritual matter. I am no preacher and don't even regularly attend church because I haven't found much there lately. I think my friend will have a lot to say, I have spoken to him about religion before and we seem to be of a like mind although he is much better taught than I. He also met many of the pastors that the rest of us know by name. I am just a believer.
Starting points, the journey is so much interesting.
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